Saturday, 8 February 2014

Sewing for Babies - Do New Grandchildren Make You Creative?

Well, in my case, yes! I probably hadn't had the sewing machine out more than a couple of times a year in the last ten years or so, but since my first granddaughter was born in October, I've dusted off the sewing machine I had for my 21st birthday, started sewing a few bits and pieces, and have now asked for (and received) a more modern and much lighter-weight machine for this birthday. And now my second daughter is also expecting her first baby, also a girl, in April.

So an excuse to start plotting baby girl outfits. The baby already with us will be going to visit her other grandparents in Mauritius in March, by which time she will be more than 5 months old. And it will be warm enough there for her to start needing summer dresses in advance of our summer. (Oh what fun!) By the time our own summer comes, in June / July, she will be 8 or 9 months and probably crawling, and the new baby will be 2-3 months. Just right for her first summer dresses, too!

I have now spent many happy hours shopping, either on-line, or at our local department shop and fabric store. Here is my first haul, a combination of new purchases, and scraps of fabrics I already had. The joy of baby clothes is what tiny amounts you need. Look at the gorgeous colours. I chose fabrics that might combine together well, and found notions and motifs to blend in. They all got washed, to avoid later shrinkage, and check they were colour-fast (one wasn't) and were then ironed ready for use.

Well, this, my first post, will reflect on my limited physical output so far! Oh, I have laboured into the night scouring the internet for ideas and patterns, and did a lot of pondering about which of the fabrics would work best for which design. I laid out materials in various combinations, with different trims or buttons. I've even had a sewing tutorial with Emma Nicholson (thank you Emma ) to show me how to use my new machine. I've practised button holes and shirring on scraps of material. But - somehow I didn't have quite enough materials or motifs, so what I did next was ---- buy even more fabric!

You can see the pile has got higher, without much coming out the bottom - but ha! Yes, there are finally signs of something happening - you can see a (not-quite-finished) baby girl dress beside the pile. More posts coming on how I made it. Don't you love the little rabbit?